WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker John Boehner is urging President Barack Obama to send National Guard troops to the southern border to help deal with the surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America.

In a letter to the president Friday, Boehner calls the situation a “national security and humanitarian crisis” of Obama’s making and says the president must act.

He says National Guard troops could help ensure the safety of the children and their families. He also says the State Department should work with Central American nations to make sure their people know of the dangers of heading north.

The Border Patrol says the number of minors coming from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras has soared more than 1,000 percent. It’s increasingly a political problem for the Obama administration.